


The Ties One Makes

by AshWinterGray



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Season 1, Steve has a Ship, Turtor to Friends, Tutoring, rewrite of season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 22:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17232257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: What if Steve hadn't fully been the jerk we were introduced to in Season 1?In 1982, Steve Harrington was told he needed a tutor, and Jonathan Byers was their suggestion. What started as just a tutor session became goofing off. What became goofing off became a secret friendship. Jonathan hated the spot light, and Steve wasn't quite ready to release his popularity. But things get put into perspective in 1983 when Will Byers goes missing. Steve and Jonathan have to ask some hard questions.





	The Ties One Makes

**Author's Note:**

> Basically a rewrite of Season 1. Thinking about doing a second part to this. Not sure yet.

            A year ago, in 1982, if anyone had told Steve Harrington that he would be friends with Jonathan Byers, he would have laughed in their face and ruined their reputation. But now, in 1983, things were different. It started with a simple tutoring in English, as Steve could not write an essay to save his life. And what started off as simple tutoring quickly became a period of goofing off. And what became goofing off became a bond of friendship and trust. All over the span of a year as they continue a tutoring.

            Over the summer, Steve and Jonathan talked off and on, but never really met in public. Not that either minded much, after all, they divulged their deepest secrets and insecurities to each other. Steve made it his personal goal to introduce Jonathan to his crush, Nancy Wheeler. He managed to introduce them just before the summer ended.

            Along with their tutoring, Steve met Will Byers, as the younger often had to wait for his brother, he often waited with Jonathan and Steve when he wasn’t with his friends. He helped both Steve and Jonathan with their science work too.

            In 1983, the tutor session wasn’t really needed, but Steve soon found Jonathan waiting for him in the library on the first day of school. Then, not even an entire semester later, Jonathan didn’t show up in the library.

\-----------------------------------------------------

            Racing through the halls, Steve looked frantically for someone. Someone specific. He ignored the shouts of teachers scolding him. Since class was over, there were several other people booking it out. But Steve was just trying to find someone before they left.

            “Nancy!” Steve called out to the girl as she walked beside a red-head. “Nancy! Wait!”

            “Steve?” Nancy questioned, surprised by the older boy’s appearance. “What’s wrong?”

            Steve pulled to a stop before both girl’s panting heavily. “Have you seen Jonathan?”

            Nancy’s brow furrowed as she tried to think over her day. If anyone had seen Jonathan, it would be Nancy, not only were they in the same grade, but she had a way of noticing people who wanted to be hidden. Plus, Jonathan had the biggest crush on her, and Steve had been trying to hook them up since the summer. Steve quickly shifted from foot to foot, his nerves clearly showing. Though people probably took those nerves to mean something different. Nancy’s friend, Barbara Steve believed her name to be, was quick to answer in the negative.

            “I don’t think he came to school today,” Barbara informed quickly.

            “His mom called my house this morning,” Nancy finally concluded. “Something about Jonathan’s brother.”

            “Will?” Steve’s eye widened in surprise. “What happened to Will?”

            Nancy and Barbara gave Steve an odd look, but Steve didn’t have time for questions. Will Byers was the joy in Jonathan’s life, and if something happened to the youngest Byers. Well, Steve didn’t want to think about it.

            “She said he wasn’t home or something,” Nancy continued, still eyeing the popular jock warily. “I don’t know. Mom said she sounded a little freaked out.”

            Steve was racing out of the school before Nancy got the last of her sentence out. By the time he got to the Byers house, Hopper was walking out. Steve instantly took note of Will’s bike, battered and abandoned in front of the house.

            “If he’s there,” Jonathan pressed to Hopper. “He’ll hide. He’s really good at hiding. He’ll think he’s in trouble.”

            Hopper said something Steve couldn’t quite hear because Joyce stepped out onto the porch looking like death had washed over her. Steve quickly raced to the woman who was like a mother to him and wrapped her in his arms. She instantly broke down, clearly having been strong for a bit too long. As Hopper left, Steve and Jonathan locked eyes.

            “We’ll find him,” Steve promised. “Even if we have to tear Hawkins apart, we will find him.”

            They went out to Castle Byers after Joyce had calmed down a bit, and they screamed their heads off until it hurt too much to keep hoping. Steve brought them both home as the two Byers were just to upset and exhausted to keep trying. He made them dinner as they finished the posters.

            In the end, he went home at Joyce’s insistence. But he held them both tightly and promised to meet Jonathan at the school to help with the posters.

            “We’ll find him,” Steve promised again as he pulled away from Jonathan. “We will. I know we will.”

            He hoped he was right.

\--------------------------------

            Steve honestly had no idea why he hung out with Tommy and Carol anymore. They were jerks, and the fact that they were making fun of Jonathan and Will made Steve’s blood boil. He told them off in so many words and went to his friend’s side. His _true_ friend. Nancy was already there, trying to offer some comfort as Jonathan stuttered around her. As she left with a sad nod, Steve patted Jonathan on the back.

            “Stuttering is not going to win you brownie points,” Steve teased slightly. “Now come on, let’s go visit Lonnie.”

            Jonathan stared at Steve wide-eyed as Steve began to lead him towards the door.

            “How did you-”

            “Because I know you,” Steve stated firmly. “And I also know Will. Personally, I don’t think Will would have gone anywhere near that jerk. But if there is a chance, we should try it.”

            Jonathan nodded as he and Steve went towards Jonathan’s car. Steve would just come back for his car later. Will was more important now, and Jonathan’s car brought both Byers some comfort.

            Jonathan had eventually opened up about Lonnie a few times, explaining how the guy was a jerk and how he ruined their family. And one day, Will opened up about it too.

            _“I mean, he is my dad,” Will explained, head hunched low as he brushed tears away. “I’m supposed to love him, right? He just makes it hard sometimes.”_

_“Yeah,” Steve nodded with a hum. “Sometimes adults do that. Sometimes adults don’t deserve to be parents and they take it for granted. Lonnie is one of those people. He has two amazing sons and he just doesn’t see it.”_

_“Thanks, Steve,” Will sniffed, offering a sad smile. “And for the record, your parents don’t know what they are missing either.”_

_Steve had ruffled Will’s hair then and the two waved as Jonathan came wandering into the library with a stack of newly made photographs._

            No, Steve didn’t think Will would have gone anywhere near Lonnie again. But this was one of their leads right now. They needed something to go one. All too soon, they were at Lonnie’s house. Jonathan and Steve pushed passed the woman who answered the door and began to search. Steve practically threw Lonnie off of Jonathan.

            Lonnie was a stupid dead end, and Steve was honestly surprised he hadn’t punched Lonnie in the face. But they were on their way back.

            “My yard is near your house,” Steve hummed after a mostly silent drive. “The wooded area, I mean. Perhaps Will cut through there last night and tried to get away from something.” He turned to Jonathan, who was clutching the steering wheel a bit too tight. “Want to check?”

            Jonathan nodded, reaching up to wipe away a tear from his face as they pulled over in the space between their houses. Steve searched around with a flashlight from Jonathan’s car as Jonathan took pictures to try and find anything that might be off. They were having no luck by the time they approached Steve’s backyard. And Steve was not at all happy by what he saw.

            “What the heck?” Steve growled as he and Jonathan approached the pool.

            A pool that was on. A pool that was now littered with beer cans. A pool with four people sitting around it. Nancy at least had the decency to look guilty, Barb was bleeding, Carol was just laughing, and Tommy was drunkly approaching him.

            “What the heck?” Steve repeated. “When on Earth did I invite you over?”

            “You didn’t,” Carol grinned. “We invited ourselves.”

            “Sorry,” Nancy quickly apologized. “We came over to see if Jonathan was okay, because you guys left before class. But you guys weren’t here and Tommy and Carol were, so we thought we would wait, and things got out of hand.”

            Steve ran a hand over his face before shoving Tommy backwards. “Get out,” he growled. “And don’t you ever come here again.”

            “But Steve,” Tommy whined.

            Steve wasted no time in shoving Tommy into the pool. Then he quickly led Barb into the house and to the bathroom with a first aid kit. She insisted she could take care of it and he let her. Jonathan and Nancy were in the kitchen, and Jonathan was flat out tense.

            Steve stepped forward, patting Jonathan’s camera. “Take pictures,” he insisted. “I know it helps you destress. After today, you need it.”

            Jonathan nodded and instantly snapped a picture of Steve’s face, with the flash on. Steve blinked and burst out laughing as he did the same to Nancy. Then Jonathan wandered the house as Steve made sure that Tommy and Carol were gone.

            “I wasn’t aware you and Jonathan were friends,” Nancy hummed as Steve rejoined her in the kitchen.

            “Not many people are,” Steve stated back. “But he tutored me last year, and we just kind of clicked. Jonathan’s not very public, and I was still hanging on to popularity. But after today, I’m just done. I want to help my friend find his brother and that is about it.”

            Jonathan came back a few minutes later, still fidgeting with his camera.

            “Do you want me to take you to get your car?” Jonathan asked Steve as he approached the two. “Its still at the school, right?”

            Steve nodded. “Yeah, that would be great.” He turned to Nancy. “Need a ride while Jonathan is offering?”

            “Barb brought me,” Nancy said back. “I can just go back with her.”

            “She was by the pool a bit ago,” Jonathan said.

            “Then we can walk you out,” Steve grinned, winking at Jonathan over the top of Nancy’s head. Jonathan blushed but escorted Nancy out.

            Barb was not near the pool and the three assumed she went home. They dropped Nancy off at her house and went home. It was as they got back to the Byers house that they found Joyce’s mess, and received news that they had found Will’s body.

\------------------------

            Jonathan and Joyce stayed with Hopper, who was trying to offer comfort, as Steve drives to the Wheeler’s house. Karen is the one to open the door.

            “Is Mike home?” Steve gasped out, his face red from crying.

            Karen, clearly not expecting this from the popular jock, nodded and motioned Steve inside. Steve barely got a few steps into the door before he collapsed and let out a sob. Nancy, who had only got home thirty minutes ago, came out to see the sound.

            “They found his body,” Steve’s body wracked with sobs. “They found Will’s body. And I know it is late, but Mike is Will’s best friend. He deserves to know. I’m sorry, but I have to tell him.”

            “Oh, sweetie,” Karen cooed as she pulled Steve into a hug. “I think he might be sleeping the basement. He went down there earlier, I think he got into a fight.”

            “Do you want me to go with?” Nancy asked as both women directed Steve to the basement.

            Steve shook his head, pushing the tears away. “No,” he said. “I need to tell him.”

            Both women nodded as Steve walked down the stairs. As Steve reached the last step, he heard a familiar, muffled voice. He rounded on Mike and someone else as Will’s voice came from Mike’s walkie talkie. It was Will’s favorite song being sung.

            Both Mike and Steve lunged at the walkie, Mike getting their first. When their efforts to get a response failed, Mike jumped in front of the girl with the shaved head. Protective.

            “What are you doing here?” Mike demanded.

            “I came to tell you about Will’s body,” Steve was practically panicking. “What on Earth was that? And who is she?”

            “Please don’t freak out,” Mike suddenly begged, looking completely desperate. “Please.”

            After Mike explained, and El added her input, Steve made a plan with Mike and the two walked upstairs with more tears in their eyes. But these were of relief, because Will was alive. There was no way Steve was going to be able to convince Jonathan, but he would search for his friend’s brother, even if Jonathan gave up hope.

            Karen and Nancy hugged Steve tightly as he bid goodbye. Mike just gave him a nod as he hugged his mother tightly.

\-----------------------

            Steve found Jonathan in the dark room the next day at school with tears in his eyes and Nicole gasping at his pictures.

            “I gave him permission,” Steve admonished as he put a hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “Don’t act so scandalized.”

            Jonathan didn’t greet Steve, but Steve wasn’t expecting him too. Nicole simply got back to her own work as Steve searched the pictures.

            “You should just get rid of this one,” Steve pointed to the one of his face all scrunched up from the flash, a teasing smile on his lips. “It completely ruins my image.”

            “Really?” Jonathan offered a strained smile back. “I thought it captured it.”

            Steve laughed as he moved on to the picture Jonathan was hanging up. Only to stop at the picture of Barb. Nancy had come to him earlier asking if he had seen Barb since last night. He studied it for a moment, seeing how she looked out of place a bit, until he saw something in the corner.

            “Jonathan?” he questioned, his finger pointing to the weird shape.

            It took a bit, but Jonathan managed to enlarge the photograph to see what the blob was. Jonathan’s eyes widened.

            “My mom,” Jonathan gasped out. “She said she saw something like this. A thing with long arms and no face.”

            Steve stared at the thing for a moment, then slowly turned to Jonathan. “It might have Will and Barb.”

            A police officer entered seconds later asking to see them both. Barb was definitely missing.

\----------------------------------

            The morgue had been pointless as both Jonathan and Joyce seemed to know the body was not Will’s. But Jonathan was better at hiding his thoughts than a very angry Joyce, and he instantly went to where Steve and Hopper were waiting. Hopper was understanding, a comforting hand, but it was hard not to give away their suspicions.

            The first thing they did was go searching for Nancy, who was also looking for them.

            “I went to your house again,” Nancy confessed. “And there was something, terrifying. I’m not sure what it was.”

            “But it looked like a monster with long arms and no face, right?” Steve pressed.

            “How did you-”

            Jonathan showed her both pictures. “We think it took Will and Barb.”

            Steve bit his lip. “Plan the funeral,” Steve said firmly. “The less people who know, the better. Including your mom. We’ll go to the funeral, and then we’ll find out where this creature is. And we get them both back. But for now, we plan the funeral.”

            Jonathan and Nancy nodded as Joyce came out of the morgue, looking desperate and distraught.

            “Nancy, can you stay with Jonathan?” Steve turned to her. “There is something I need to do, and I will meet you both later, alright?”

            They nodded, and Steve took off. He needed to find Mike and the girl, El. He needed to know more about this thing and where Will was. And the girl seemed like she knew the most.

            She was, in fact, a little helpful. Steve knew what to call it, and where it was from, but not how to find it. But the funeral came all too soon for them, and Steve still didn’t have the answers he needed. He saw the boys talking to Mr. Clarke, but he could get those answers later.

            “This area,” Jonathan pointed out all the known sighting on a map. “This is probably where we will find it.”

            “And what do we do once we find it?” Nancy asked.

            Which led to them breaking into Lonnie’s car and stealing a gun.

            “Tonight?” Jonathan asked.

            “Tonight,” the two found themselves agreeing.

            Of course, then they found a deer dying, and it was snatched away. And Nancy went into a hole in a tree and they had to pull her out. Then they were all hiding in Nancy’s bedroom as she basically had a panic attack. It was all extremely stressful.

            But hey, Steve could see sparks between Jonathan and Nancy. That was a perk.

\----------------------------

            Steve did not get a chance to talk to Mike or El the next morning because Nancy and Jonathan wanted to go monster hunting. And with the two’s current track record, Steve was tagging along just to make sure they didn’t get themselves killed.

            As they were leaving the hunting shop, someone called out to Nancy. Tommy H., Carol, and Nicole had defaced public property to call Nancy a slut.

            “What the heck is your problem,” Steve shoved Tommy back as the found the three in an alley way.

            “My problem?” Tommy laughed. “What’s your problem? You are the one having a threesome.”

            “What are you talking about?” Steve demanded.

            “Went looking for you yesterday,” Tommy grinned back. “Searched all over town just to find you in Wheeler’s house snuggling with the freak and the slut.”

            “You don’t know what you are talking about,” Steve hissed as he pushed Tommy back once more and prepared to walk away.

            Carol laughed and snagged Jonathan’s camera. Steve and Jonathan both tried to snatch it back, but she “clumsily” dropped it. A sickening crack filled the alley as the group of bullies laughed.

            “Can’t take any pervy pictures of your girlfriend and boyfriend now, huh?” Carol taunted as the other two laughed.

            The only thing holding Steve back was Jonathan. But that changed as Tommy began to curse the Byers family. Before Steve could blink, Jonathan was wailing on Tommy like no tomorrow. Then the cops showed up, and Steve tried to pull Jonathan off Tommy only to get nailed in the face. Tommy, Carol, and Nicole got away. But Jonathan was in handcuffs as Steve sported a bloody nose.

\------------------

            “This is ridicules,” Steve fumed as Nancy got Jonathan ice. Steve’s nose was not broken, and the blood was cleaned up. “I am not pressing charges, and those other idiots won’t be pressing charges either, so just let him go.”

            “Can you say with absolute certainty that those other kids won’t press charges?” Officer Powell asked as he watched Steve rant.

            “Yes!” Steve exploded. “To press charges against Jonathan would mean they would need to confess to defacing public property. They may be jerks but they aren’t dumb.”

            Powell sighed, clearly tired of everything going on, and unlocked Jonathan’s wrists. It was as the last cuff came lose that Joyce and Hopper walked in. Which led to an entirely different conversation.

            They spent time trying to find the kids, Steve worrying for El as they searched. Jonathan finally recommended the radio. Nancy tried, Hopper tried, but there was still no answer. Steve finally grabbed the radio.

            “Listen, idiots,” Steve began, much to everyone’s protest. “The bad men are coming for El and if you don’t tell us where you are then they will take her. So you best tell us where you are so we can get you someplace safe.”

            And, oh. He hadn’t told the other four people with him that he knew about El, or who she was. Whoops. But they got an answer, and Hopper was off in seconds.

\------------------------------

            Creating the tank thing had been interesting. El’s powers in action had been interesting. Barb’s death was depressing. Will’s voice was reassuring. But then Joyce and Hopper were gone to get Will, and Nancy and Jonathan suddenly vanished. He told the kids to wait there as he raced off to safe his idiot friends.

            He discovered he was extremely handy with a bat. Specifically a bat full of nails. Then, as they beat the monster, and feared it wasn’t dead, Steve raced back to the kids. Only, he was too late. He burst into the classroom only to watch El vanish into nothing with the monster. He held Mike close as the boy sobbed.

\------------------------

            Will woke up in the hospital and they each took turns watching over the boy. Steve eventually made Joyce and Jonathan sleep as he sat by Will’s bedside one day.

            “You okay?” Steve asked softly as Will coughed himself awake.

            Will shook his head.

            “That’s okay,” Steve grasped Will’s hand. It was a lot warmer this time. A sign that he wasn’t dead. A sign Steve appreciated. “You don’t have to be okay. Alright? You will get better, but you don’t have to be okay.”

            And Will nodded, tugging at Steve’s hand till he was laying on it. Steve’s hand fell asleep, but he refused to wake Will up. The boy finally looked content in his sleep, and Steve would lose his arm if it meant Will would be okay.

            The grateful look Jonathan sent him was nice too.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully this makes up for that terrible chapter.


End file.
